The present invention relates to electroluminescent cables, namely to cables which include electroluminescent fibers having a phosphor which generates light when subjected to an electrical field. The invention also relates to mounting systems for such cables.
Electroluminescent cables are well known and are gaining increasing usage where it is desired to produce a linear light source for various purposes, such as for marking-off predefined areas, for building decoration, for advertising, for providing lighted directions, names, etc. Many electroluminescent cable constructions are described in the literature, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,819,973; 5,869,930; and 5,876,863; and in International Application PCT/NL00/00895 published Jun. 7, 2001 as International Publication No. WO 01/41511. The contents of the foregoing publications are incorporated herein by reference. However, efforts are continually being made to design electroluminescent cables of a more simplified and compact construction having greater tensile strength, higher light outputs, and/or simpler ways of mounting the cable.